Quick-adjustment wrench



H. AI. SPNAGUE. QUICK ADJUSTMENT wNENcII.

APPLICATION FILED DEC 27, 1920.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

UNITED STATES HORACE M. SPRAGUE, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

QUICK-ADJUSTMENT .VRENCH.

Specification o1' Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 19,21.

Application filed December 2*?, 1920, Serial No. 433,389.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Hormon M. Sraaeun, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city andl county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Quick-Adjustment l/Vrenches, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to improvements in quick adjustment wrenches of the class known as monkey wrenches. j

The object of the invention is to provide a wrench of this character having the usual fixed and slidable jaws, the slidable jaw hav ing a threaded adjustment nut which is adapted to engage the threaded shank of the wrench in the usual manner, but which is pivotally connected to the said movable jaw so that it may be swung back out of engagement with the teeth on the shank, thus perinitting the slidable jaw to be quickly moved l up or down on the shank; the nut, when moved again into engagement with the teeth of the shank, serving to adjust the jawin the usual manner,and to hold the same at the desired point of adjustment.

Further, to provide a wrench in which the slidable jaw is provided with an adjustment nut in sliding engagement with a stem which is in swinging engagement with the jaw, said nut being under a spring tension which prevents accidental disengagement of the nut from the teeth of the shank.

These objects are accomplished by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wrench constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, the slidable jaw, and swinging adjustment nut being shown in section, and

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

The numeral l1 designates the shank portion of the improved wrench, 2 the handle, and 3 the fixed jaw, and these parts are preferably formed of a single piece of metal, though the usual wood hand grips may be screwed upon the handle if desired. The shank is of slightly less thickness than the width of the jaw, and upon the shank is mounted the slidable jaw which is made up of a metal block 4, constituting the jaw proper, and a U-shaped guide 5, which surrounds three sides of the shank, and is slid ably mounted thereon, and is secured to the jaw 4, by pins 6 and 7. The sides of the guide overlap a portion 8, of the jaw 4, which is reduced to the thickness of the shank, and beyond the edges of the guide the jaw widens out to the full width of the fixed jaw 3, or of the guide, which is also the same width as the jaw 3, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

'The edge of the shank adjoining the jaw 4, is threaded or provided with teeth 9, and these threads or teeth are flat on their upper faces, and inclined on their under faces, the incline being downward from their outer edges, as shown. The reduced or narrow portion 8, of the jaw 4, is formed with a recess 10, which is cutfin from the inner edge of the jaw and extends from its lower end to a point slightly beyond, where the pin 7, passes through the jaw, and the upper half of a stem l1, lies in the recess 10, and is pivotally mounted on the pin 7, which passes through a hole in the upper end of the said stem. The lower end of this stem is provided with a head 12, and before securing the stem upon the pin 7, an adjustment nut 13, having 'an axial hole 14, is slipped upon the stem.` The lower half of the hole 14, is counterbored to form a chamber 15, of the diameter of the head 12, on the lower end of the stem, and an expansion coil spring 16, surrounds `4the stem, and bears at one end against the head of the stem, and at its other end, against a shoulder 17, formed at the junction of the hole 14, and the counterbore 15, the spring 16, serving to hold the upper end of the nut 13, tightly against the lower end of the jaw 4, and thus prevent accidental outward swinging of the stem 11, with the nut 13. The nut 13, is cylindrical vin form, and of slightly less diameter than the widest part of the jaw 4, and a thread 18, is formed on the periphery of this nut, which is adapted to mesh with the threads 9, on the shank of the wrench. the thread 18, however, is flat, while its upper face inclines upward from the outer edge of the thread, and by this arrangement, the under erflat face of the thread on the nut engages the upper or flat faces of the threads or teeth on the shank, while the inclined upper face of the thread on the nut engages the inclined under face of the shank threads. Thus yielding or slipping of the jaw 4, uoder downward thrust, is impossible. owing to the engagement of the flat face of the thread on the nut, with the corresponding flat faces of the threads on the shank; but when the The under face of jaw 4, is pushed toward the jaw 3, the coutact of the inclined faces of the threads on the nut and shank will cause the stem 11, with the nut, to swing outward, thus throwing the nut out of engagement with the teeth of the shank, and thereby permitting the jaw 4, to be slipped upon the shank, ,without manually swinging the nut out of operative position.

The lower end of the jaw 4, is `inclined downwardly from the recess 10, as shown at 19, toform a slight cam surface, which is engaged by the upper end of the nut 13, when the same is swung outward to dis engage it from the shank threads, and this engagement of the upper end of the nut with the said cam surface causes a downward sliding of the nut on the stem 11, whereby the spring 16, is contracted, and causes the nut to bear with greater force against the jaw, so that when the outward swinging pressure on the nut is released, the spring 16, will cause the nut to swing back into engagement with the shank threads, and hold it there against accidental disengagement. As the diameter of the nut is slightly, less than the thickness of the jaws, the nut cannot come in contact with any surface over which the wrench is moved when in operation, and thus accidental turning of the nut is prevented.

The ends of the pins 6 and 7, are spread or riveted, so as to hold the pins in place.

In operation, when it is desired to slip the jaw 4, down from a closed position or from a slightly open position to a wider open position, the nut is swung to one side, as vshown in Fig. 2, so as to disengage its thread from those of the shank, and the jaw is then slipped to, or approximately to the desired position, and the nut is swung again into mesh with the shank threads. The wrench is then applied to the object, such as a nut or bolt head, which is to be turned, or held stationary, as the case .may be, andcif any finer adjustment of the jaw is required, either to increase or diminish the space between the two jaws, such adjustment is made by turning the nut, as in wrenches of the ordinary construction. The sliding jaw can be instantaneously slid from a wide open to a closed position, or any intermediate position, by pushingV upward on the said jaw, which causes the inclined faces of the nut thread to slip over the corresponding faces of the shank threads, as previously described.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: Y

1. In a wrench of the character described, a toothed shank having a fixed jaw thereon, a Vjaw slidably mounted on said shank, a stem in swinging engagement with said jaw having an abutment head on its free end, a

threaded nut slidably mounted on said stem having a counterbore, which incluses said abutment head, an expansion coil spring on said Vstem interposed between said abutment head and the end of said counterbore, to hold said nut against the bottom of said jaw, said nut being normally in threaded engagement with said shank, thereby to adjust said jaw on said shank and to permit the quick sliding adjustment of said jaw on said shank, when out of mesh with said shank, and means for causingsaid nut to swing back into mesh with said shank, and for holding said nut in such position.

2. In a wrench, a toothed shank havinga fixed jaw, a jaw slidably mounted on the shank, a stem in swinging engagement with said jaw having an abutment head onV its free end, a threaded nut slidablyv mounted on said stem and having a flat upper end for engaging the lower end of' said j aw, and having a counterbore which at all times incloses the abutment head of said stem; an expansion coil spring on Vsaid stem interposed between said abutment head andthe end of saidcounterbore, to hold said nut against the lower end of said jaw, said nut being normally in threaded engagement with said shank, thereby to'adjust said jaw on said shank, and to permit the quick sliding adjustment of said jaw on said shank when out of mesh with said shank, and an inclined face on the lower end of said jaw upon which the upper end of said nut slides when the nut is swung out of ymesh with the shank, said inclined face and the expansion force of said spring causing said nut, when released, to swing back into mesh with said shank, and to maintain such position.

3. In a wrench, a toothed shank having a fixed jaw, a slidable jaw on said shank, a stem pivoted at one end to said jaw and having a head on its free end, a threaded nut slidably mounted on Athe stem and normally in mesh with said toothed shank, saidnut having a counterbore which houses the head of said stem, said headv fitting ysnugly but slidably in said counterboreyan expansion` coil spring surrounding said stem and interposed between said head and the end of said counterbore, said jaw having an inclined face on its lower end which is engaged by said nut when the same is swung out of mesh with the shank, thereby sliding said nut on the stem and compressing said spring, the expansion force of said spring in conjunction with the inclined face causing the nut, when released, to swing back into mesh with the shank.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HORACE M. SPRAGUE. l`Witnesses G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, ELIZABETH SMITH. 

